Prince Harry And Meghan Markle’s Baby Could Be A U.S. Citizen, But Will The Queen Allow It?


With the recent announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expecting their first child next spring, royal fans have been wondering on everything from conception dates, delivery dates, the sex of the child, and even potential names for the latest upcoming royal baby. However, some royal fans are also wondering if the baby will also be a U.S. citizen thanks to Meghan’s status. So, what happens when the baby is finally born?

In addition, as previously reported by the Inquisitr, Prince Harry’s children will not receive the title of prince or princess unless the Queen allows it as she did for Prince William’s children. This is because the royal title of prince and princess are limited to grandchildren of the heir and not great-grandchildren. This rule was laid down by King George V in 1917 according to the Express. However, any standing sovereign has the authority to issue titles to those they deem fit to receive them.

Currently, as the law stands, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s unborn child will be known by the title of earl or lady, depending on the sex of the baby. However, as the New York Times asks, will this Earl or Lady also be a citizen of the United States of America thanks to Meghan Markle’s status as a native-born citizen of the U. S.? In addition, if this new royal baby is declared a U.S. citizen, will the Queen change its status in the same way she can change its title if she so wishes?

Currently, Meghan Markle hasn’t yet become a British citizen. Even with being a member of the royal family, things could still drag out for years before she is made an official British citizen. So, with her being a U.S. citizen, the potential is there that her children will be born as dual citizens of the U.S. and England. As the New York Times points out, this could, potentially, open up the royal family to having to disclose their finances come tax time in the U.S.

As the law currently stands, any of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s offspring will be considered dual citizens of the U.S. even though they will have been born abroad and to only one parent who is a U.S. citizen. Technically, the dual citizen title is not officially acknowledged, although this stance is currently being relaxed in the U.S. as more citizens chose to work abroad.

“Even though technically the United States doesn’t affirmatively embrace dual citizenship, it no longer objects to it,” says Doris Meissner, who was commissioner of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service under President Bill Clinton. “The policy for quite some years now has been basically a ‘Don’t ask don’t tell,’ policy.”

However, there is one stipulation in the dual citizen process, which involves notifying an American consulate of the birth, and that is the fact that to gain dual citizenship, the individual will have to forswear “absolutely and entirely all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which the applicant was before a subject or citizen.”

Which, somehow, seems unlikely the queen will allow, considering we are talking about a member of the English monarchy and one of her great-grandchildren. So, at this point in time, royal watchers will just have to wait and see what happens in relation to whether or not Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s baby will be a U.S. citizen or not.

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